October 27th 2019 Rotorua

Kia ora

Missions are FABULOUS AND BUSY!!!!

While we seem to be getting into a routine, there are always “curve balls” (notice the tie to October and World Series Time?!?! Linda didn’t get it!)…

Our weeks go like this

Week 1.         Prepare for Transfers (Missionaries going out, missionaries coming in and various other           missionaries moving from one location to another…)

Week 2.        Transfers

Week 3.        Zone Conferences with Interviews

Week 4.        The rest of the Interviews (Over 40 hours of interviews total!)

Week 5.        MLC

Week 6.        Quiet Week! (Not always!)

Then Start all over again…

Some of the “curve balls” are medical / nursing related…

Not all of the 50 or so calls & texts she gets everyday from the missionaries are critical, but it does take time – sometimes its explaining that leaving left over chicken out all day and then eating is the cause of their upset stomach and no it is not appendicitis… Or the breaking out itchiness is really Scabies (Scabies is a contagious skin disease caused by a non-visible parasite called the scabies mite. Symptoms include itchy skin and rash)

Linda shared how Scabies is passed along – Handshakes! Every time you meet with missionaries, everyone shakes everyone’s hands when they arrive and when they leave…So I decided to start doing a “Wynn Fist Bump” (sometimes with the “boom” and sometimes without…) instead of shaking everyone’s hands several times each meeting – It’s catching on… And we have avoided getting Scabies so far…

Elder Rojas made it safely home to England – Chicken Pox appears to have passed – Doctor visits are still quite common (we go with the missionaries to help ask the right questions) – Dental work has been a bit of a surprise (cavity, impacted wisdom teeth and root canals)…

Other “curve balls” are logistical…

Our missionaries come from either the Auckland MTC or Provo MTC which means a pick-up at the airport (we only had to go to the airport [which is 1-1/2 hours to 2 hours away, depending on traffic] 2 times this week!) – When we have regular transfers, everyone gets picked up at once – sometimes we get mid-month incoming missionaries and have to adjust as they “trickled” in this week (3 different trips to Auckland – fortunately there are several of us to share this activity!)

Last week we finished up our second week of interviews in Rotorua – we were able to find some time to hike a Redwood Forest…

Redwoods...

Redwoods...

And visit a Waterfall (Okere Falls)…

 

President Erekson wants to raft this one...

At the edge of the rapids on the left...

Then from a doctor’s visit we found time to hike Craters of the Moon…

And another visit to Huka Falls…

 Blue water at Huka Falls - 200,000 liters per second

Kowhai tree

Today is Nathan’s Birthday - We miss him and love him

We Love all you all!

Elder & Sister Despain (ElastiNurse)   

Linda - ElastiNurse

October ??? - 13th Missions are Fabulous!

Missions are FABULOUS – CONTINUED (More details from the past few weeks…)

It has been a busy few weeks – Missionaries finishing (Out-Takes), new missionaries coming in (In-Takes), Transfers, Zone Conferences (5 Zones) & Interviews with each missionary… All this requires a lot of planning, scheduling and then executing (Especially when the numbers are High - 20 new missionaries this month!) – We are Busy!

THEN, add on top of all that, Medical issues (Hospital visits, MRI specialists [they even recognize us now – too many visits!], doctors, missionaries with Chicken Pox, scabies or bug bites) – it is keeping us really busy! (Linda might be feeling a bit like the “Incredibles Elastigirl” being stretched in some many directions!

Linda, after a few Medical Calls - Wanting to reach out and touch someone!

Things grow like crazy in New Zealand! Here is our greenhouse Linda mentioned…

 

In our Backyard...

Our Tomato Plants

Dessert!

The rest of the Salad...

Grown from seeds!

Occasionally we get to -

     Go walk the beach…

Near Opotiki

Looking the other way...

Find Cool Things!

     Drive by dormant Volcanos…

(Not bad from a moving vehicle!)

Looking forward to Spring and Summer…

We Love all you all!

Elder & Sister Despain

Oct 1 - 10 We miss you! We love you!

Missions are FABULOUS!

Our 2 year old granddaughter uses this word appropriately.  It reminds us of the joy in life and missions.  We are blessed to be in a beautiful country with amazing missionaries.  The gospel is worth sharing with others.  Many examples of how it impacts and changes lives are evident daily.

We have friends from many places.  2 years ago when our son passed away, a family friend from another location wrote and said that they pray for Despains daily.  One evening one of their young children who had been born after we moved prayed for us and ended the prayer and said, "Who are the Despains?"   It touched us deeply.  We felt their prayers.  It lifted, strengthened and comforted us.
This past week we were talking to our grandchildren and they said they prayed for Elder Rojas everyday.  Even the two year old repeated his name and prayed.  Such sweet prayers lift and strengthen each other.  Elder Rojas feels your prayers.  He is an inspiration to the entire mission.  He spoke at each of the zone conferences this past week about faith.  He shared his love of the hymns and the power in their words.  He shared that as tough as it was to hear he had cancer, it was harder to hear that he has to return home and leave his mission.  He is a beautiful example of love and serving our Heavenly Father.

He had his second chemo treatment this week, and is ready to fight his battle.  After one more treatment he and his mother will return home.  I've been touched by their faith and by the prayers offered in his behalf.  It does help.  Please continue.

Our two isolated missionaries with Chicken pox were finally released from their flats  There was a shout of praise to get out of there and back to work!  Then another dreaded call .... no one even recognizes them.  What is this, why do I itch they say?   Most often in New Zealand, it's scabies.  We continue to see a lot of scabies.  And now, MORE Chicken Pox.  They're so confining and uncomfortable!  Here we go AGAIN ....

Thankfully, we're blessed to be surrounded by generous, charitable and inspiring people.  We're grateful to see the leadership from President and Sister Erekson.  Elder Despain is full of good ideas and keeps everyone organized and moving.  42 hours of interviews, Missionary Milkshake firesides, Zone Conferences, and Transfers!   Then we have the unscheduled Medical intervention, and missionary assist moments.

At each of the Zone Conferences we're blessed to see the musical talent of our missionaries.  We love seeing them strive to develop already strong talents.  They share openly and freely.

Our replacement opportunity is already posted and available for someone to apply!   Being on a mission is worth the effort and time.  Just browse and look at the opportunities that are options.  It took us several times looking and discussing and speculating and even laughing at each others suggestions before we could agree on an opportunity we both agreed on.   Just look:  https://seniormissionary.churchofjesuschrist.org/srsite/

Our greenhouse efforts paid off and we were able to hand out a tomato plant to each companionship this past week.  We challenged them to grow the plant and reap the rewards.   It's a joy to be entering summer!   There is still plentiful rain.  Sometimes I realize where we are actually located and can't think about the wind and the waves too intensely.  Elder Rojas shared his thoughts on the hymn "Master the Tempest is Raging" and reminded us that the apostles were in a state of panic and feeling like they were in a violent storm, alone and scared and unprotected.  In this state they woke a sleeping Jesus, who simply calmed the waters.  Yet during the storm and experiencing their trials and emotions, he was right there all along.  He had never left, he had never abandoned them.  He is calm.  He is there.  He is with us always.  Stop, pause and trust that he is with you. We know this is true.  We feel the peace from the presence of the Holy Ghost and the comfort it brings us daily.

We miss you!  We love you!  We thank you for your prayers and support.
💚💚Elder and Sister Despain